Snake in The Lion's Den
by WolfMaiden1227
Summary: at eleven years old, draco malfoy is sorted into gryffindor instead of slytherin. now cast out from his family and called a blood traitor by those who were once his friends, he is lost and confused. and his loyalties and opinions quickly change as he sees just how horrible things can get. what will happen to him now? (rated for later chapters)
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of these Characters. They are Owned by J.K. Rowling.**

 **Author's Note: Hey guys, this is my first story here, and I'm still learning how to use the site and all, please let me know if I mess up on something!**

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 **"GRYFFINDOR!"** the entire great hall was silenced as the Sorting Hat called out the house to which the student wearing it would belong. Everyone stopped whatever they were doing and their eyes snapped to the small boy sitting in the chair, the Sorting Hat atop his head. The young blonde boy looked utterly shocked, and absolutely horrified. There was a full, maybe five minutes, of dead silence, as no one could have ever seen this coming. Minerva McGonagall stood staring at the small blonde boy who would be in her House. _How was this possible?_ she thought to herself as she attempted to collect herself mentally.

Meanwhile the boy sitting in the seat was trying to process what he had just heard. Had he misheard? The hat had to have made a mistake. He was supposed to be in Slytherin. Not Gryffindor. The hat made a mistake. That was it. It just made a mistake. Right? He looked up when the dead silence slowly got louder. The Slytherin table was snickering and the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were whispering. The only table still silent was the Gryffindor table. The boy laughed silently at that. The lions had finally been shut up. The only problem was that he was the reason. _Stupid Gryffindors_ , he thought angrily. Then, Minerva moved into action.

"Malfoy, please go sit down," she spoke softly, motioning toward the Gryffindor table. The boy just sat there for a moment, lost and confused. But eventually, he came to his senses and stood as Minerva removed the Sorting Hat from his head. Head down and fists clenched, eleven year old Draco Malfoy moved toward the Gryffindor table. This was the table he hated most. They were his enemies by nature. He was a Malfoy, therefore Gryffindors were bad. Except that one. What was his name? Oh yes. Harry Potter. Maybe there was a possibility he could try his hand at befriending the other boy again. The famous Harry Potter could be my friend! Draco thought. He would have to try something different this time, as his last tactics hadn't been successful. Silently, the young blonde boy took a seat at the end of the Gryffindor table, not wanting to deal with any of the people yet.

 **"Hey blood traitor!"** Draco looked up to see Gregory Goyle headed towards him. The blonde boy pulled out his wand, as he knew that Goyle was not going to be kind. Not since he was sorted into the wrong house. There was a sudden pain the right side of his face -Goyle had punched him. Draco raised his wand to cast a spell when a voice called out, stopping Goyle in his attack, and Malfoy in his defense.

 **"Hey!"** Both boys turned to see Harry Potter running towards them, the Weasel and a bushy-haired girl following. Goyle saw the green-eyed boy and turned to flee, leaving Draco on the ground, confused and unsure. What had just happened? His friend had attacked him! **"Malfoy, you okay?"** Draco looked up to see Harry standing above him, offering him his hand. Hadn't this scene already played but in reverse? Well, not this exact scene, but hadn't Draco offered his hand in friendship to the green-eyed boy in front of him and been rejected? Why would he take the hand offered to him now? _I shouldn't. But, maybe..._ he thought as he considered it. Was this his chance? Making a decision, Draco grabbed Harry's hand and allowed the boy to help him up.

 **"Gee, Malfoy, are you okay?"** Harry asked, looking at the other boy's face. A bruise was already forming on the blonde boy's very pale skin. Harry had already asked that question, but the other boy hadn't answered and now he could really see Malfoy's face.

After the shock wore off slightly,the pain returned. He could feel his face beginning to bruise and it hurt -a lot. Finally he brought himself back to reality. **"Uh, yeah. I'm fine,"** he said at first, raising his chin to attempt to better his appearance. Harry raised an eyebrow, and the girl behind him seemed concerned as well. **"You don't look fine, Malfoy,"** Harry told him, confirming the bruise Draco could feel blossoming on his face. He looked away, suddenly very self-conscious about his face. He was a Malfoy and that meant perfection. Having a bruised face and being sorted into the wrong house were both not on the list for Malfoy perfections.

And the it dawned on him. After this, he wouldn't be a Malfoy. His father would never accept a son in Gryffindor! What would his father do to him upon hearing the news? What would his Godfather, Severus, do? He would have to deal with Severus all the time...suddenly Draco began went into a panic. Thoughts were racing through his mind at lightning speed, and they were all causing him so much panic. _What will Father do about this? What will happen to me? I've brought shame to the Malfoy name! Father is going to kill me! Oh he is going to be pissed and he's going to kill me! And Mother! She'll be so disappointed!_ All of these thoughts ran around in his head and they kept getting worse and worse, more severe and more frightening to think about. But he couldn't stop them.

 **"Malfoy! Malfoy!"** and then there was someone shouting at him. _What?_ he thought silently as he opened his eyes. Wait...opened his eyes? When had he closed them? his eyes opened to see Harry bent over him with a worried expression on his face. Even the Weasel looked concerned. **"Oi, Malfoy, you passed out,"** the Weasel commented. He had done what? He, Draco Malfoy had passed out? Then everything came rushing back. And, at only eleven years old, such rapid-fire thoughts were difficult to handle. "Yeah Malfoy. I don't think you're fine. Let's go -" "What in Merlin is going on down here?" Harry was interrupted and the four students all stopped and looked up when they heard Minerva McGonagall's voice. They looked up to see the Head of Gryffindor House and the Deputy Head Mistress of Hogwarts, striding toward them, a stern expression on her face. It was Harry who spoke up. **"Professor,  
it's Malfoy. He, um, well, one of the Slytherins was attacking him, and we found them and stopped the kid who was attacking him. Then he kind of passed out...we were just about to go looking for someone to help when you showed up,"** Harry explained the situations somewhat awkwardly, as he didn't really know the whole story, just what he had seen. But, Professor McGonagall raised her eyebrows, looking from each student to the next. Potter, Weasley, and Granger all nodded, but the Malfoy boy was just staring oddly at the other three.

 _They defended me? Since when would the Weasel do such a thing?_ He was staring at them, confused and..there was another emotion that he hadn't felt before...was it, gratefulness? That was weird. Malfoys weren't grateful to others! _Oh..._ then he remembered again. He wouldn't be a Malfoy after his father heard about this.

 **"** _ **Mister Malfoy**_ **, is this correct?"** he looked up to see McGonagall looking at him. It seemed like she had asked him multiple times by now. Slowly, he nodded. **"Yes,"** he spoke quietly. His world was falling to pieces and he had no idea what would happen.

 **"Alright, lets get you to the Hospital Wing. Madam Pomfrey will fix you up. You three, to the common room,"** she ordered. **"Um, Professor, I'd like to accompany Malfoy, is that alright?"** Harry spoke up and helped Malfoy to his feet once again. Minerva sighed, but nodded. **"Very well, Potter. Weasley, Granger, back to the common room,"** she gave them a look that said there would be no arguments, and they nodded. **"Bye Harry,"** they both bid their new friend farewell and hurried off toward the Gryffindor common room.

 **"This way,"** Minerva led the way towards the Hospital Wing. She glanced back behind her once to make sure the boys had heard, but then simply led the way. The Malfoy boy concerned her, and she didn't know why Harry Potter would claim the boy as a friend. at least, that is what it seemed like from her perspective. However, she also knew many things about the Malfoy family. And one thing she knew was that the young blonde boy would not get a warm acceptance when i=his family received news of the House he was sorted into. There was no way that Lucius Malfoy would accept having a son in Gryffindor House. Minerva felt bad for the boy. At first, she had simply been concerned about having to deal with a Malfoy, but now, after having thought about it, she was more concerned for the boy's safety.

 **"So, Malfoy, what happened back there? Wasn't that a friend of yours? Why would he hit you?"** Harry inquired as they walked. He'd never had any good experiences with people before Ron and Hermione, but he was pretty sure friends were supposed to nice to each other. And considering the very large, very dark, bruise on Malfoy's face, his friend had not been nice to him.

Draco was quite surprised when Harry Potter voiced concern for him. _Why would he be so nice when I was so rude to him before?_ he asked himself. **"You wouldn't understand,"** he bit out harshly. He was angry at the Sorting Hat and in pain, and he hadn't meant to sound so harsh. **"I, I'm sorry,"** he apologized softly. It felt so weird to do such a thing -to apologize to someone. But it also felt good, in a way. _I'm not supposed to be doing or feeling such things! I'm a-_ he scolded himself, but then was reminded once again of his fate as he went to say something that would soon not be true.

Harry had flinched slightly at Malfoy's harsh tone, but then the blonde boy had apologized. The green-eyed boy gave him an odd look and then shrugged. **"Then explain it,"** he said simply, as if it was the easiest thing in the world to do. Malfoy sighed. **"It's not that easy, Potter,"** he said, exasperated. But, in the hope of a possible friendship, he decided to try. **"It's a pureblood thing, I guess. I, uh, my family, uh...my father is very strict...he, um, he has certain...expectations. And, I, um, I didn't, well, I didn't meet them...It's a...well it's a tradition, for Malfoys to be in Slytherin. And since I, well, am not...I have disgraced my family and they'll probably disown me because I'm a blood traitor..."** he spoke faster and faster, stumbling and pausing awkwardly in places. At the end of his little speech, he looked up from the ground and saw that Harry was giving him an odd look. **"What?"** Draco asked. Harry seemed to be lost in thought. **"Uh, Potter?"** Draco asked again. The eleven year old Malfoy was quite confused, and also quite lost. He had no idea what was going to happen to him, he had no idea why he had been put in Gryffindor, and he had no idea why Harry Potter was being so nice after he had been rude. This was completely different from the world Draco Malfoy knew, and his little secret? He kind of liked this other side of things...

Potter seemed to realize he was being spoken to and blinked a couple times. **"Sorry. Um, Wow. Your family would really do that to you?"** Harry knew what his family was like and was honestly surprised he hadn't been tossed out with how much the Dursleys hated him. But the young green-eyed boy would have thought this world wouldn't be so cruel. With all its magic and strange, awesome things, he hadn't even considered there would be anything bad about this world. Well, besides a few snarky kids -the one he was speaking with having been one of them. But now he saw this blonde boy differently. What else would he find out about this boy he had at first thought of as a snarky, pompous rich kid?

Draco nodded. **"Yes, they'll do it. Why wouldn't they? I don't deserve the Malfoy name,"** he told Potter these things, fully believing the words that fell form his lips. Harry, however, couldn't believe what he was hearing. This blonde boy walking next to him was so sure about this and it seemed he believed wholeheartedly -no, knew- that his family would reject him because of something so small. Well, at least in Harry's eyes it was something small. It didn't seem so to the other boy. In a way, Harry could understand the boy's panic and such. He knew how it felt to be hated by his family. And no matter what, he wouldn't wish that upon anyone.

 **"Well what've we got here, Minerva?"** Poppy Pomfrey smiled at her friend as the Head of Gryffindor House walked in and then saw the two First Years behind her. One happened to be Harry Potter. And the other? A Malfoy for sure. **"Hello, Poppy. It seems young Mister Malfoy got himself into a bit of trouble in the halls this evening. Mister Potter wished to accompany him to you,"** Minerva explained. Poppy's eyes widened. _A Potter and a Malfoy getting along?_ Such a thing had never been, nor ever even heard of. **"Well, young Malfoy, it seems you got yourself a bit of a bruise. Come here, boy, and we'll get that all fixed up for you,"** Poppy shuffled him over to a bed, Harry following right behind. Then the Hogwarts Healer bustled about to get the necessary potion for Malfoy's bruise and any other possible injury he may have behind said bruise. **"Drink this,"** she ordered the young Malfoy in front of her.

Draco glared at the potion and then at Madam Pomfrey. The older Witch raised her eyebrows and looked at the boy. Draco then quickly took the potion and swallowed it. It tasted gross, and he had a hard time keeping it down, but he managed. The young boy made a disgusted face and swallowed a few more times to attempt to rid his mouth of the taste.

 **"Thank you, Poppy,"** Minerva McGonagall smiled and then turned to the boys. **"Alright boys. Back to the Dorms. Go,"** she nodded to the doors and escorted them out. Harry remembered the way from earlier and led Malfoy along.

 **"Come on Malfoy, this way,"** he said, leading the way through the halls towards the moving staircases and towards Gryffindor Tower.

 **"Why are you being so nice?"** Draco asked suddenly. Stopping and just watching Potter. Harry turned in surprise and cocked his head slightly. **"What do you mean, Malfoy?"** Harry asked him, curious. **"I mean, I wasn't that nice to you when we first met. So why are you being so nice to me now?"** the blonde boy asked, his voice portraying just how difficult it was to talk about this so casually. **"I decided to give you another chance. I don't like it when people get hurt. And you were being hurt, so I had to stop it. And you weren't a brat then, so I decided you deserved another chance,"** Harry explained his reason as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. And for him, it was. But to Draco, this was a very foreign concept and it was very difficult for him to understand. **"Oh. Okay. Um...Thanks,"** Draco looked at Harry and his words were quiet, unsure, and seemed a little forced as well. Harry shrugged and nodded toward the stairs. **"Come on, we have to hurry,"** he then turned and headed for the stairs. Draco followed behind, still quite confused about the boy who was Harry Potter. In one day, the young Malfoy had experienced so many strange things, he wasn't really sure how to handle it.

So, he simply followed Harry Potter to the Gryffindor Common Room. He hadn't joined the First Years on the tour to the Common Room after the Sorting Ceremony, so he had no idea where he was going. Instead of doing so earlier, he had run to find Severus. His godfather was not what everyone thought him to be. He was very scary, sure, but to Draco he really wasn't. His godfather was more like his father than his real father, -not that the blonde eleven year old would ever admit that- and Draco had been so glad when Severus hadn't cursed him on sight, as his father would most likely do. Severus was less evil than most thought him to be, and Draco didn't know why, but the man did not seem too affected by Draco's House. Mind you, he was confused and little angry, but nothing like Draco's father would be. Lucius Malfoy would be beyond angry, that was for sure. Draco was brought out from his thoughts when Harry spoke.

 **"Fortuna Major,"** Harry said, speaking to the fat lady in the painting. **"Hello, dear,"** she smiled and let the boys pass through. As soon as they stepped in, they were rushed by a bunch of Gryffindors, rushing towards Malfoy with not so nice looks on their faces. The young blonde boy shrank back slightly and Harry stepped up as if to protect him. That shocked quite a few of them. The famous Harry Potter, protecting a Malfoy? Thinking there must be a reason, some backed off. But others, who knew of the blonde boy's father and family, sneered at him and went on trying to scare the young boy.

 **"Hello, Harry,"** Two voices blended together as they shoved through the crowd. **"Get off 'em. Bloody hell! Leave 'em be, come on."** George and Fred Weasley stepped up and shooed people away. They each slung an arm over Harry's shoulders. **"How are you, Harry?"** George asked. **"Come on, Malfoy!"** Fred called over his shoulder. Malfoy was appalled at being summoned by a Weasley. They were the ultimate enemy of the Malfoys! But, not wanting to be left alone with Gryffindors that clearly disliked him and his family, he followed, over to where he now saw the Weasley and the bushy-haired girl sitting. _What was her name? Hermione? Yes, that's it._ he confirmed in his head. This was all very strange for the young Malfoy. Oh, his father was definitely going to kill him...or disown him. Or both.

 **"So, how's it feel to be a Gryffindor, Malfoy?"** the boy looked up when he heard someone say his name. He then realized it was one of the Weasley twins who had asked him. He was still getting used to the fact that Weasleys were speaking to him. The Weasleys -a very poor, muggle-loving wizard family whom were the enemies of the Malfoys. _At least they are pureblood though,_ he thought to himself. Then, he remembered that he was supposed to reply.

 **"Um..."** he didn't really know how to reply. He wasn't going to share any important information with the Weasleys, that was for sure. He also didn't want to say anything because he didn't know what to say. He was ashamed, in all honesty. He had betrayed his family and his bloodline, and he was sure to be disowned and possibly tortured and killed by his father. So, the young boy just settled with not really saying anything.

 **"Yeah, I bet,"** George and Fred laughed and sat down on the floor. Weasel and Hermione -no, it should probably be Weasley, or Ron- were sitting on a couch, and Harry had moved to sit with them. Draco looked around, unsure of what to do with himself. That was, until Harry motioned him over to the couch as well. **"You can sit, Malfoy. Or should I call you Draco?"** the raven-haired boy asked curiously. Draco had moved to sit next to Harry and then when asked about his name, his head flew up and his eyes met Harry's for a moment before he looked away. _Should I allow Harry Potter to call me Draco?_ With a deep breath, knowing this was the moment that he really knew his life was going to be very different from the one that had been planned for him, he spoke.

 **"You can call me Draco."**


	2. Chapter 2

**"Draco, are you coming?"** the blonde boy lifted his head form his studies and saw Harry and Ron headed out somewhere. Him and Hermione were sitting on the floor in front of the fireplace doing their homework. **"Where to?"** he inquired, glancing over at Hermione. It had been about a month since he had had to deal with the fact that he was now a Gryffindor. And after the first couple weeks, it stopped being a bad thing. He wasn't quite sure how, but he had managed to become friends with Ron, Hermione, and Harry, who protected him from the kids who would rather see him tortured or dead because of his last name.

The young blonde boy had also found that everything his father had told him about Gryffindors was false. Well, most of it. Most of them had accepted him into their House without problem, once he had become friends with he Weasleys. Percy Weasley was kind of really annoying, but he was Head Boy, so there wasn't much Draco could do about that. Fred and George were quite fun, though. And Ron was a good match for him at chess. Over the course of a month, Draco Malfoy had discovered that the Weasleys were not who he was taught they were. They were very friendly and kind, and accepting. And he actually liked them. The twins protected him from any sneaky attacks coming from either Gryffindor or Slytherin, and it felt like he had actual friends, instead of people hanging around him because of what his name was. And it felt...good. Really good.

 **"Dunno yet. Gonna explore. Coming?"** Ron spoke before Harry could again. Draco thought about it for a moment, but he would much rather be here finishing his homework. Also, it was Wednesday, so they had Astronomy at midnight tonight. Looking back at the boys, Draco shook his head. **"No, I'm going to finish my homework and probably get some sleep before Astronomy class tonight. See you guys later,"** he waved slightly and returned to the Potions essay he was writing. As Severus was his Godfather, he had already learned quite a bit about Potions, and he enjoyed the subject. This was probably the easiest of his homework, and the most enjoyable, so he had saved it for last.

 **"So, Draco, how are you?"** Hermione paused in whatever she was doing and looked over at him. Draco was getting used to the motherliness of the girl, but it still surprised him most of the time. He shrugged. **"I'm fine. Almost done with my Potions essay,"** he told her, smirking. Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed. **"That's not what I meant and you know it. Have you been having any more problems lately?"** she asked, giving him a look. He sighed. **"Of course. I'm a bloody disgrace. A blood traitor. I'm a Malfoy that got sorted into a house other than Slytherin. In fact, the complete rival of Slytherin! I'm a bloody Gryffindor!"** his voice had risen to somewhat of a hysteric note as he had described just what he was feeling. He got a few looks from some of the other Gryffindors in the room, but none of them said anything. Most had accepted it would be like this for a while. The little blonde boy wasn't supposed to be here, they knew. But he was. The grey-eyed boy sighed and hung his head. **"Sorry,"** he muttered, most likely about the insult to the House of Gryffindor.

Hermione truly did not understand, but she tried her best to comfort him anyways. Her and Harry had no idea what it was like in this world. They were completely clueless about pretty much everything to do with the Wizarding World. They had both come from Muggle households and had no prior knowledge of magic. But Draco -and Ron- had been raised in this world. So, she usually left this sort of stuff to Ronald. But, as he had just left with Harry, she tried her best to console Draco. **"It can't be that bad, can it? You have friends here, and that's all that matters,"** she tried, but by the look on his face, she knew she'd failed.

 **"It isn't like that, Hermione. You wouldn't understand. It's something only Purebloods could understand,"** Draco stated, albeit a bit harsher than he had meant to. He had a bad habit of that -being too harsh or rude with his words at times. He didn't mean to, really. It was just the way he had been raised. When he saw Hermione's face, he sighed. **"I'm sorry. I didn't mean that the way it sounded. I just...I'm sorry,"** he sighed and looked away, ashamed that he had a habit of making his friends feel bad. His friends...such an odd thing to call a bunch of Gryffindors. But, it was true. These other students had become his friends. _And I keep making them upset and I keep screwing up._ The should-be-Slytherin decided to go back to focusing on his Potions essay. At least he knew he could be successful at that.

 **"Draco, I know you didn't mean it. I can understand that much. I can understand that this is different than what you're used to, at least. I know that feeling. A month ago, I didn't even know there was such thing as magic, and now I'm going to a school for it!"** She smiled warmly at him and rested her hand on his arm for a moment. Giving him a light squeeze, she then went back to her work. He attempted to smile in return, thankful for the real friendship he was experiencing. _I mean, this is still so weird and new, but I do like it. I like feeling like I have real friends. Not just the kids of my father's "friends" or associates._ Draco looked over at Hermione and sighed. **"Wake me up when it's time for Astronomy, will you?"** he asked Hermione as he stood and put away his work. Then, he returned to their spot near the fireplace and stretched out. He had also retrieved a pillow form one of the couches. **"Sure, Draco,"** Hermione smiled and continued her work. She would make sure no one bothered Draco while he rested. Plopping down, he laid out next to Hermione and closed his eyes. He was laying on his back, and drifted off soon enough.

\- - - - - - - -

 **"Wake up Snake!"** Draco felt something hard hit his ribs and his eyes flashed open. Glancing over, he saw that Hermione had fallen asleep beside him. The young blonde had no idea what time it was and that wasn't really the first thing on his mind. Above him stood a Sixth Year with a vile expression on his face. This happened often enough when he let his guard down in the Common Room. His father was Lucius Malfoy, a known supporter of the Dark Lord. As such, he was feared and hated by a lot of people. Including his own son, not that Draco would ever flat out admit that.

 **"Hey! There will be none of that in my House!"** The Head Boy had come into the Common Room, it seemed. He glared at the Sixth year who dare abuse another House member. The Head Boy was very aware of who he was protecting, but the rules were the rules and he had to make sure they were followed. Without another look at the blonde First Year, he shooed the older student away and then left the scene. Others may have accepted the young Malfoy, but he was still suspicious. The kid was a Malfoy after all.

Draco held a hand to his ribs and the touch made him wince. Another trip to the Hospital wing, most likely. **"Oh, Draco! I'm sorry, I shouldn't have let myself fall asleep!"** Suddenly Hermione was all over him, her face contorted with worry. He sighed, wincing again at the pain that caused. **"I'm fine. Just a bruise,"** he bit out. Breathing hurt. Moving to stand, he pushed himself up and looked around. It was probably almost time for Astronomy class. **"I'll just go down to the Hospital wing and get it fixed. I'll meet you in the Tower,"** he told the bushy-haired girl. **"Oh no you don't. You aren't going anywhere alone,"** she told him sternly. Anger over took him then. He still wasn't used to people actually caring about him, and it caused him to get defensive. **"I'm fine, Granger! Get over it!"** Draco snapped at her, glaring. The young girl flinched at his words and he regretted saying them. His eyes softened slightly. **"I, I'm...I'm sorry,"** he whispered, head down and eyes on the floor. The young Malfoy boy was still very unused to feeling sorry for something, or having someone who was genuinely concerned for him. Being a Malfoy, Draco was raised to be above everyone else, and to not trust anyone. In his upbringing, he had been taught that those of Pureblood status were the only people deserving of respect and also, only those who were good enough for his father. He had realized that meant Dark Wizards pretty early on. But Hermione Granger was none of those things. She was a Mudblood -no, he shouldn't use that word anymore. She was a Muggle-born. And she was a Gryffindor -though, so was he, which was why he was being subject to all of this abuse. He was in the wrong House.

He was brought out of his head when a hand touched his arm. He immediately flinched and the hand disappeared. Then, he felt it again and looked up. Hermione was standing in front of him, her hand on his arm. **"I forgive you, Draco. From what I've seen and heard, I know this is probably very hard for you,"** young Hermione may have been a crazy know-it-all sometimes -which amused Draco a lot- but she was also a really good friend, he was coming to realize. He gave her a small smile. Not his smirk that he used with a lot of people, but a real smile. She returned the smile. "Let's go find George or Fred to go with us down to the Hospital Wing," she looked around and had no idea where to look for the twins. They were some of the only older students she knew, and there was no way she would ask someone she didn't know. It was almost time for their Astronomy class, so that meant around 11:30 probably. The young witch cast a quick _**"Tempus"**_ , having taught it to herself, just like a few other spells she had deemed necessary.

Draco stared at her in surprise. This eleven year old Muggle-born was learning spells they weren't even being taught? Though, he had seen her homework, and had come to the conclusion that they would be vying for the title of having top marks, he hadn't expected her to be that knowledgeable about things they weren't being taught. **"What?"** she raised an eyebrow at him and realized he was still staring. **"Where'd you learn that? How did you learn it?"** she smiled at his questions. **"I looked in the library. I figured I'd get ahead for the game, obviously. why wouldn't I learn it?"** she smiled and then waved her wand and the time disappeared. Before Draco could reply, she tugged at his arm. **"Come on. We have to get you to the Hospital Wing. I guess we'll have to chance going by ourselves,"** she told him. It was after Curfew, but she figured an injury would be a good excuse.

As soon as they were out of the room, they were caught. **"Miss Granger, Mister Malfoy, what, may I ask, are you doing out after Curfew?"** they turned to see their Head of House striding towards them. She looked very stern as she usually did, as well as curious to their answer. It was Hermione that spoke up. **"Professor, one of the older students kicked Draco in the ribs and I thought he should go see Madam Pomfrey to make sure nothing got broken,"** she explained boldly. McGonagall didn't scare her, really. She was quite fond of the older witch, actually. The professor was very protective of Harry, she had noticed, and she was curious as to why. She knew on the train, Ron had been talking to Harry about how famous he was, but as she was not raised in the society, she didn't quite understand.

 **"Hmm, this is the fifth time in two weeks, Malfoy, if I remember correctly. Come along, then,"** Minerva sighed and escorted them through the castle to the infirmary. She felt sorry for the Malfoy boy. Lucius Malfoy no doubt knew of his son's House by now. That would a glorious disaster soon enough. The poor boy was picked on by practically everyone, though somehow had become friends with Harry Potter. That had some sway over things, she had seen. Harry's friends were kind to Draco and the Weasley twins protected him as well. But, they were all so young, the older student who chose to pick on the blonde-haired boy found it easy since most of the Sixth and Seventh Years didn't care about what happened to the should-be Slytherin. Minerva did her best to protect the boy, as she believed the Sorting Hat had placed him in her House for a reason. _But what that reason is, I've no clue. Poor boy,_ she thought sadly. The boy was admitted to Poppy Pomfrey's care at least twice a week. The Slytherins did worse to him than the Gryffindors, usually attempting to use dangerous curses and spells to harm the boy. So far, they had been caught before they succeeded in doing such harm, but Minerva feared there would be one who wasn't caught in time.

 **"Again, young Malfoy?"** Poppy Pomfrey appeared from her office as they entered the infirmary. Draco stood as straight as he could, but walking all the way down here had hurt his ribs. Hermione had a hand on his arm in a protective gesture, looking at the two adults cautiously. She trusted them, but she knew Draco probably didn't. Not yet.

Draco simply nodded. **"What happened this time?"** Madam Pomfrey motioned for him to sit on one of the empty beds and Hermione followed him closely. Just then, the doors slammed open and Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley ran into the infirmary.

 **"Malfoy!"**

 **"Draco!"** both boys shouted at the same time, coming to a stop next to the blonde boy and Hermione. **"Bloody hell, Malfoy, are you alright? You don't look so good!"** Ron commented.

 **"Mister Weasley! Five points from Gryffindor for your language!"** Minerva scolded. She glared at the boy and then returned her gaze to Malfoy.

 **"Madam Pomfrey, Draco got kicked in the ribs by one of the Sixth Years. I was afraid something might have been broken, so I made him come down here,"** Hermione had turned away from the boys and was explaining the situation to Madam Pomfrey. The Matron nodded and cast a spell to check Draco's injuries. **"Nothing broken dear, just some bruised ribs. Drink this and you'll be fine,"** Pomfrey handed the boy a potion to drink. Draco gagged at the taste, but forced it down. He felt the effects almost immediately. **"Thank you,"** he said quietly. Such words on his tongue still felt very weird, but he understood he should say them.

 **"Alright, you four. Up to the Astronomy Tower for you class, then straight to bed for you. you are dismissed,"** Minerva told them, motioning toward the door. The foursome all headed for the door. Harry was in the lead, Ron next to Malfoy, and Hermione following in the back. They surrounded Malfoy in a protective way, but made it seem almost like they were just walking, not guarding him. But the old witches knew better. The could see they were guarding the young Malfoy boy.

 **"I've never heard of or seen such a thing, Minerva,"** Poppy commented, nodding her head to the door the children had just left out of. Minerva nodded. **"Yes, Poppy, nor have I. Nor has a Malfoy ever been placed in any other house but Slytherin. But, he was placed in my house for a reason, albeit one I still must figure out,"** Minerva smiled a bit sadly, and then let out a small laugh. **"I can just see Molly's face when she finds out her boys are friends with a Malfoy,"** Minerva smiled at the thought. Molly Weasley was one of the kindest witches she knew, but she also knew that the Weasleys and the Malfoys were very much enemies. Poppy chuckled at that. **"Ah yes, Molly won't know what to do at first,"** she nodded.

 **"Well, Goodnight, Poppy."**

 **"Goodnight, Minerva."**


	3. Chapter 3

It had been three months now, since Draco Malfoy had been sorted into Gryffindor House instead of Slytherin. He had made friends with some of his housemates, but avoided most of the older students. Him, Harry, Hermione, and Ron had become quite good friends, in fact. A little over a month ago, Hermione had gotten trapped in the girl's bathroom with a troll, and the three boys had somehow fought it off and managed to save her. Of course, when Hermione took the blame for them being out with the troll loose in the castle, the boys were a bit surprised. McGonagall had taken points form the house because of Hermione -well, technically it wasn't her fault but she took the blame- and also awarded points for bravery shown by himself, Harry, and Ron. In all honesty? Draco had been absolutely terrified. Harry and Ron had done most of the work, he had pretty much just been hiding. But, the only people who would ever know that would be Hermione, Ron, and Harry.

There had been a time when he would act all tough and arrogant, because of who his father was, but now he couldn't use his father to defend himself. Because he had disgraced the bloodline, his father had disowned him. At eleven years old, his father disowned him. His mother hadn't seemed that disappointed in him, but she would follow his father's direction. Mostly out of fear, he knew. There may have been love between them once, but he knew his mother feared his father now. Everyone feared Lucius Malfoy. Well, except a few, who either hadn't seen why they should fear him, or those who did not know of him -mind you people who did not know of Lucius Malfoy were very hard to come by. Mostly they were Mud -Muggleborns. Draco still had to correct himself on such things, as they had been pounded into his head with every word of his father, every lesson given to him by his father. Draco supposed he should stop calling Lucius his father, since the man had in fact disowned him. The young boy still remembered the Howler he had received during breakfast one morning...

 _He had been sitting at the table in between Harry and Hermione, with Ron across from him. Next to Ron was Neville Longbottom, and Seamus Finnigan. They were all decent friends by now, as Harry having accepted Draco caused the others to follow suite pretty fast. He could tell Neville and Seamus were still a bit unsure of him, but they still stuck around so he was okay with it. They had been eating and talking about their upcoming flying class, which Harry, himself, and Ron all found very exciting, while the other three weren't so excited. Fred and George Weasley jumped into the conversation every once in a while, but were mostly talking to each other, discussing new pranks they would love to try out. Draco always found himself listening in and asking about the pranks, wanting very badly to help with them._

 _And then, the mail had come. And his Eagle Owl, Balthazar, had brought him a single letter. And it had turned out to be a Howler..._

 _ **"DRACO LUCIUS MALFOY!"**_ _It began. The Great Hall got quieter as all the students listened in to what this would say. Draco had quite a decent idea of what it would say, and wished he could set it on fire before it kept speaking._ _ **"YOU ARE A DISGRACE TO THIS FAMILY, TO YOUR BLOODLINE! I CAN NOT BELIEVE ANY SON OF MINE WOULD BE SORTED INTO GRYFFINDOR! BECAUSE YOU HAVE BROUGHT SHAME TO THE MALFOY NAME AND YOU HAVE BETRAYED YOUR OWN BLOOD, I, LUCIUS ABRAXAS MALFOY, DISOWN YOU. YOU ARE NO LONGER ENTITLED TO ANYTHING UNDER THE MALFOY NAME!"**_ _Young Draco had been so shocked, and yet not shocked at all. He had known this was coming. It just, felt worse than he had thought it would. His father had disowned him, plain and simple. But it wasn't that simple. He had disowned him, in a Howler, for the entire school to hear. It was then that the young blonde Gryffindor realized he was crying. He wiped hastily at his eyes and did his best to stop the tears._ Malfoys don't -oh, yeah... _he reminded himself what had just happened. As of now, he was no longer a Malfoy. He simply carried the name, he got nothing from it. With a sniff, the eleven year old got up from his seat, and left hurriedly from the Great Hall._

 _He didn't know where he was going, just that he needed to be somewhere else but there. As soon as he was out of the Great Hall, he broke into a run. Somehow he had ended up in the Astronomy Tower. Draco collapsed against the wall and sat there, staring at nothing, trying to process what had just happened. No matter how much he had seen this coming, it still hurt. Even though he didn't have the best parents, they were still his parents. And he loved his mother._ Will I ever get to see Mother again? _he asked himself. That just made it hurt worse._

 _ **"Draco?"**_ _his head flew up when he heard his name._ _ **"Go away!"**_ _he snapped. All he wanted was to be alone. He didn't want anyone to see him cry. He wasn't supposed to cry. And he wasn't supposed to be in this stupid House! He was supposed to be in Slytherin! The young boy wiped at his eyes and glared at the entrance, where the person stood. It was Harry Potter, looking concerned. Behind him were Ron and Hermione, and Fred and George._ _ **"I said go away!"**_ _he yelled again. He took out his wand, hoping to seem threatening. But who was he kidding? What was he going to do, levitate one of them? After sitting there glaring at the four across from him for quite a while, he finally let his head fall to his knees once again. He barely registered the faint sound of footsteps coming closer, and then there was a hand on his back._

 _Harry hadn't even hesitated when Draco had left the Great Hall. He had taken off after the blonde-haired boy, trusting his friends to follow. He had followed Draco up to the Astronomy tower, though he had given the other boy a little bit of time alone before entering the room at the top of the tower, with Ron, Hermione, Fred, and George in tow as well. Then, upon being yelled at by Draco, he paused and waited a moment. Then, continued over to the boy. Harry had ignored everything the other boy had done and said, not believing he really meant it. The green-eyed boy had put his hand gently on Draco's back, in a comforting gesture. Harry knew exactly how it felt to be hated by family._

 _ **"Draco,"**_ _he said the blonde boy's name again. He wasn't really sure what else to say at the moment. Then he had heard more footsteps and saw the others coming over. They all stood surrounding Draco, both being his support and standing protectively around him._

 _Draco had been so mad at them at first. He had been angry because he had told them to go away and they hadn't. But he was then grateful after he calmed down. It felt good to have real friends. Friends who were there for you. It was then that he decided that he didn't care about being a Malfoy anymore. He would just be...Draco._

Draco was pulled from the memory when a hand ruffled his perfect platinum blonde hair. **"Hey!"** he snapped. But, upon seeing it was just George Weasley, he rolled his eyes. **"If you could understand the word perfection, you wouldn't be so inconsiderate!"** he called sarcastically at the Weasley twin who was walking away, heading out of the Common Room. Draco was sitting on the floor in front of the fireplace, waiting for Harry and Ron. They were supposed to meet Hermione down in the Library for a study session. Not that Harry and Ron actually did much without Draco and Hermione bugging them about it. Just then, he looked up to see Ron and Harry headed toward him from the stairs leading up to the Boy's Dorm. **"Ready Draco?"** Harry called and he nodded, grabbing his school stuff and slinging his bag over his shoulder.

 **"Oi, mate, what happened to your hair?"** Ron chuckled and his eyes were on Draco's pale blonde hair. **"You're idiot brother, that's what,"** Draco commented snarkily, though his soft laugh made it known that he was joking around. Together, the three boys headed out to meet Hermione in the Library.

 **"So, Malfoy, what are your plans for Christmas?"** Ron asked with a grin, too late remembering the Howler from Lucius Malfoy and what had been contained inside it. **"Oh, er, Draco, I'm sorry,"** the red-haired boy stumbled over words, glancing away from Draco for a moment. **"It's fine, Ron. I guess I'll just be staying here..."** Draco said slowly, quietly. Harry punched him lightly in the arm, hoping to distract him. **"Hey, I'm staying here too. Aren't you too, Ron?"** Harry smiled and then turned to his red-haired friend. Ron nodded. **"Yeah, Fred 'n George and Percy are too. I think 'Mione is going home though,"** he said as they walked. **"Well, yeah, she probably misses her family,"** Harry commented, his voice making it clear he did not feel the same about his family. Before long, they were at the Library. Together, the three boys strode in and immediately spotted their fellow Gryffindor First Year at a table, her nose deep in a book.

 **"Hey, 'Mione, how's it goin'?"** Harry asked as they sat down. Hermione lifted her head from the book she was reading and smiled. **"Hello Harry. Draco, Ronald. I found a really interesting book about Potions,"** at that, Draco perked up and moved to sit beside her. **"Really? Let me see!"** He demanded as he looked over her shoulder. Harry and Ron chuckled and sat down as well. **"Bookworms,"** Harry snickered. Then a book thwacked him on the head. **"Ow!"** he cried out and glared in mock anger at Hermione, who was the one who'd hit him with the book. **"If you aren't going to study, go play chess with Ronald. At least Draco understands the importance of studying,"** she lectured them with a sigh, then returning to her book, with Draco reading over the shoulder.

Draco chuckled softly as he watched Harry and Ron roll their eyes and get out their schoolwork. They then begrudgingly began writing out their Transfiguration essays. Draco and Hermione had already finished those, as they were tomorrow. Draco rolled his eyes at the fact that the other two always seemed to wait until the last second to do their work, unless Hermione hounded them about it to the point they couldn't stand anymore of her pestering. Draco pestered them at times, but he more teased them about getting low marks, rather than making them actually do their work. No, he left that job for Hermione. It was much more amusing watching Harry and Ron being bossed around by a girl.

 **"So, Draco, how much of your Herbology essay do you have left to write? I've completed almost all of it. I only have to do my History of Magic essay. But that isn't due until next Monday, so I'll have it done with plenty of time to spare,"** Hermione smiled. Draco rolled his eyes and nodded. **"Yeah, I'm horrible at Herbology though. I think I'm going to ask Neville bout a few things -he seems like he's doing well in the class. That may be the only class he's doing well in..."** Draco shook his head slightly. Neville Longbottom was a Pureblood, but he wasn't a great Wizard. He struggled in a lot of the classes, but Draco had seen him exceed in Herbology, at least.

Hermione smiled and nodded. **"Yeah, Neville is great at that kind of thing. I think he really enjoys it. Personally my favorite class is Charms. What about you, Draco?"** she asked with her head titled slightly to the side. **"I like Potions. Plus, Professor Snape is my Godfather,"** he told her. The other three seemed to freeze up a bit for a moment, as if expecting Draco to react to something he had just said. But, Draco wasn't phased by talking about Severus Snape. In fact, he had been to see Severus multiple times since Lucius had disowned him and the Potions Master treated him no differently. Draco was thankful for it, as Severus was now his only family. The young blonde boy didn't really understand why everyone was afraid of Severus, but there were times occasionally in class where he could see it. But, the man had always been kind to him. It was odd to him sometimes, being one of the only people to know Severus Snape had a good side to him.

 **"Snape is your Godfather?!"** Ron choked out, eyes wide. Draco laughed at the look on Ron's face, and Harry's too. _Is he really that bad to them?_ he asked himself. Slowly, he nodded. **"Yeah. He's not as bad as you think. He has a good side to him too. He just doesn't show it to many people,"** Draco explained, defending his Godfather.

 **"Um, okay...Anyways...Hey 'Mione, can you help me this Charms essay?"** Ronald Weasley gave Hermione a hopeless look and she laughed softly. **"Ronald, I'm not letting you copy off my work! You have to actually do it!"** she scolded him, even crossing her arms for effect. Draco lowered his head to hide his grin, as did Harry. Ron sighed and groaned, looking at Draco and Harry. They both shook their heads. No way were they going against Hermione Granger on this one.


	4. Chapter 4

**"Hey, um, Draco?"** Neville Longbottom stood awkwardly near the chair Draco was curled up in. Draco was in the middle of reading a passage that would help him with his next Charms essay. He glanced up upon hearing Neville's voice. The other boy was still nervous around him, Draco knew. _Oh. Perfect. I can ask about Herbology,_ Draco thought, recalling his idea from the night before. **"Hello Neville,"** he greeted the boy, putting his text book down for the moment and turning his attention to the Longbottom boy. **"Um, Draco..I was, um, kind of, um..** _ **wonderingifyoucouldhelpmewithpotions**_ **?"** Draco raised an eyebrow, not sure he had caught all of that. **"What?"** he asked, hoping Neville would repeat himself a bit slower. It was obvious the boy was nervous being alone with Draco -they were the only two awake currently, besides a few older students that had already left the Common Room to head down to Breakfast.

It was honestly a little painful for Draco, as he was finding out just how feared the Malfoy name was. He'd found out from Ron that his aunt, Bellatrix Lestrange had tortured Neville's parents so horribly that they were in permanent comas, and that was one reason why Neville was very nervous around him and unsure of him. He had shuddered at the thought of his aunt. She was insane, and terrifying. It was so strange, hearing about all of this stuff from everyone else's perspective. Many of these things he had known about, but from the entirely different view of his fa -of Lucius Malfoy. He still slipped up and called the man his father at times. It was hard to accept the fact that at eleven years old, he had been disowned.

 **"Um, I was sort of wondering, if you might, um...help me with Potions?"** Neville's stuttering brought Draco out of his thoughts. _Neville's actually asking for my help? Oh this is the perfect time to ask for his help as well!_ Draco thought. He smiled at Neville and nodded. **"Yeah, sure. Um, actually, I was going to ask for your help as well. I'm horrid at Herbology..."** Draco paused to see how Neville would react to that. At the mention of Herbology, Neville's face visibly brightened.

 **"Oh...really? You, you want my help?"** Neville asked, his voice unsure, as if he was expecting Draco to be joking. **"Yes, you're good at that stuff, and I'm horrid at it. How about we help each other? I'll help you with Potions, and you can help me with Herbology. We could study in here or in the library, maybe in our free period before dinner, or after dinner?"** Draco suggested, hoping Neville wouldn't back out. Hoping to make the other boy more comfortable, he added, **"We can invite Harry, Hermione, and Ron to join us as well."**

Neville nodded in agreement slowly. **"Okay. Um, tonight, then?"** he asked. Draco nodded. **"Yeah, sure. Do you want to meet here or in the Library? Oh, and if you want, I can talk to Severus about pairing you up with Hermione or I in class. He's my Godfather, so I'm sure I can convince him. "** Draco smiled. He had seen how afraid Neville was of Snape, and he somewhat understood. His Godfather could be pretty frightening in class, he'd realized. Neville seemed quite surprised about Snape being Draco's Godfather. **"He, He's your, your Godfather?"** Neville asked, seeming curious but also cautious, as if treading on a dangerous path. Draco nodded. **"Yeah, Sev's not as bad as he seems in class, though. And, he's kind of the only family I've got left..."** Draco then decided it was probably time to stop talking or change the subject. **"Um, so, anyways, what you are doing for break, Neville?"** Draco asked. Christmas Break started in two days. So far, he knew Harry, Ron, George and Fred were staying, as well as himself, and Hermione was going home.

Neville was glad for the change of subject. **"I'll, um, I'll be here,"** he said simply. Draco nodded along. **"Then we can do some studying and stuff at some point, I guess."** Draco replied with a smile. At the sound of footsteps on the stairs, he looked over to see Harry and Ron entering form the Boy's Dorms. Hermione appeared from the Girl's Dorm shortly after as well.

 **"Let's go eat, I'm starving!"**

 **"Ronald, you're always hungry,"** Hermione rolled her eyes at Ron's comment and the others chuckled. Then, the group of first years headed out the door and down to the Great Hall for Breakfast.

\- - - - - - -

 **"Today, you will be brewing the Forgetfulness Potion. Open your textbooks to page 132. I will also be pairing you up for this assignment. Listen for your pairs and then move and begin,"** Severus Snape explained what they would be doing and then began to call out pairs of students. Draco tried to ignore all of the Slytherins glaring and sneering at him. He only hoped they wouldn't attack him. **"Granger and Potter, Goyle and Parkinson, Finnigan and Weasley, Thomas and Brown, Zabini and Crabbe, Bulstrode and Nott, Longbottom and Malfoy..."** as soon as Draco heard his name and Neville's, he grinned at the boy beside him. He had sat beside Neville in the beginning, already knowing Sev would pair them together. He caught Sev's eye and the Professor simply glared at him, though an eyebrow was slightly raised, as if asking Draco "are you happy now?" Draco recalled the conversation he had had with Severus the evening before. It had been interesting for sure.

 _The boy had snuck down into the Dungeons where his Godfather's personal quarters were, and had then proceeded to discuss with Severus a few things, one of which being pairing him and Neville together. Severus had been shocked at first, and quite unwilling because of his dislike of most Gryffindor students. But, as his Godson was in Gryffindor now, instead of in his House where Draco should have been, Severus had to deal with it. He had agreed to pair Draco with Neville, though not understanding why his Godson would want such a thing. Draco had also asked about his mother, hoping there was news of her or something. But, Severus had informed him that no, his mother had not contacted Severus. That had left Draco a bit crestfallen, but the boy had simply nodded, and left, sneaking back up from the Dungeons._

 **"Okay, so Neville, this is what we need: 2 drops Lethe River Water, 2 sprigs of Valerian, 4 Mistletoe berries, 2 measures of Standard...and I think that's it. Do you want to get the supplies or should I?"** Draco asked, turning to the other boy once he finished reading the list of ingredients. **"Um, I can do it,"** Neville replied as he hurried off to the supply closet to retrieve the ingredients. Draco then set up the cauldron and got it ready. When Neville returned with the things they would need, Draco got to work organizing everything.

 **"Alright, so you can prepare the ingredients and I'll do the actual brewing, okay?"** Draco asked, looking over at Neville. The other boy nodded. **"Sure,"** he seemed relieved that he wouldn't have to do the brewing. **"Well, this first part is easy, so you can do it. 2 drops of the Lethe River Water into the cauldron,"** Draco helped Neville make sure everything was perfect, then instructed him to put the 2 drops into the cauldron. Once done, Draco timed it for 20 seconds, then had Neville add the two sprigs of Valerian. Draco then stirred it three times clockwise, said the incantation needed for this part, and then sat back. This was their double Potions period, so they would simply have to wait until their potion was ready to complete. While they waited, Draco helped Neville prepare the next ingredients. They had to use the Mortar and Pestle to crush and combine the Standard herb mixture and the Mistletoe berries. Draco instructed Neville on how to do so, walking him through each step. When they were done, they set everything aside and Draco got his Potions book out and started going over things with Neville, explaining things and such. When their timer went off, Draco returned to the potion, following the rest of the directions and reciting the incantation to complete the potions. He then put a sample in a vile and carried it up to Snape's desk. **"Here you go, Professor,"** he said with a small grin. Then, he headed back to his seat to help Neville clean up.

\- - - - - - -

The had all said goodbye to Hermione when she had left for Break two days ago. There wasn't a lot to do now that there weren't any classes, so the boys just tended to hang out in the Common Room, or go wander around outside. At the moment, they were all sitting in the Common Room. All being Harry, Draco, Neville, Ron, George, and Fred. But, at least it was Christmas Eve, so there was plenty to talk about. Harry had never had a real Christmas before, and didn't really expect such a thing, but enjoyed talking about it with the others. They all seemed pretty excited about it, besides Draco. Of course, Draco still participated in the conversation, but not much.

Draco was too busy dealing with how he felt about this -about being here at Hogwarts for Christmas, and knowing he was no longer welcome at his home. Harry had noticed Draco acting down and barely contributing to the conversation and decided to ask him about it. **"Draco, are you alright?"** he moved to sit next to the other boy. Draco glanced up and nodded. **"Yeah, of course. Why?"** he replied somewhat defensively on instinct. Harry sighed. **"Draco, it's okay if you're not,"** he said slowly, cautiously. He knew he probably wouldn't get the best response from Draco, but he said it anyways. **"I said I'm fine!"** Draco snapped and got up, storming up the stairs to his bed in the Boy's Dorm. Harry thought about going after him, but figured he might just make it worse. With another sigh, he rejoined the conversation the others had been having. He would check on Draco a little later.

 **"Draco? It's time to go down for dinner,"** Harry called into the Dorm, walking over to Draco's bed. The raven-haired boy found Draco asleep. The boy's skin around the blonde boy's eyes was red as if he had been crying. Harry stepped closer and laid a hand on Draco's arm. **"Draco?"** he repeated. This time, the other boy's eyes opened. **"What?"** Draco's voice was slightly strained. He had indeed been crying before he had fallen asleep, but he'd never openly admit that. **"Dinner, you coming?"** Harry asked. Draco nodded and got up. Together, they headed down to the Great Hall, where the others were waiting for them. Harry had told them to go ahead and that he would be down with Draco.

\- - - - - - -

Waking up on Christmas morning at Hogwarts was an entirely new experience for Harry. He came down to the Common Room, seeing Ron, his brothers, and Neville already down. He had seen Draco sleeping and had decided to let the blonde boy sleep a little longer. When Harry got fully into the Common Room, Ron motioned him over and handed him a few parcels wrapped in Christmas paper. **"I've got presents?"** he asked, shocked. He had never received presents before. Ron nodded. **"What were expecting, turnips?"** the red-haired boy asked with a confused look. Harry was so excited, he couldn't wait to open his presents. The young boy sat down and began to unwrap them. Hagrid had given him a roughly cut wooden flute, Hermione had gotten him a bag of Chocolate Frogs, he'd received a jumper and some fudge from Ron's mom, and... he wasn't sure what the last thing was, but it was from Dumbledore. **"Bloody hell, Harry! That's an Invisibility Cloak!"** Ron cursed and grinned when he saw what Harry had gotten from Dumbledore. **"A what?"** Harry asked, giving Ron a questioning look. **"An Invisibility Cloak! Put it on, you'll see!"** Ron instructed him. Harry was a bit confused, but did as Ron said. Suddenly, he was just a floating head! **"Whoa!"** Harry grinned. _This is so cool!_ he thought excitedly.

 **"Harry! You got an Invisibility Cloak? I didn't think those were real! Who's it from?"** Harry looked up to see Draco entering the room. **"I'm not sure. It just says 'Anonymous' on it,"** Harry explained. Then something under the tree caught Harry's attention. There was a wrapped parcel with Draco's name on it. "Hey Draco, look! This one's for you!" Harry smiled as he passed the parcel to the blonde boy. Draco was shocked. Who was getting him a gift? Slowly, he opened it. Inside was a box of sweets and pair of dragon-hide gloves. On top there was a note to go with it.

 _"My dearest Dragon,_

 _You father has forbidden me to contact you, claiming you are no longer our son.  
However, you are still my son, no matter what. Lucius has gone away on business  
for a bit, which is why I am able to get this to you. I don't know what your father  
was thinking, disowning you like that. I argued against it, but you know he  
always gets his way. Please know that no matter what Lucius says or does, you  
will always be my son and I will never stop being your mother._

 _I love you Dragon,_

 _Mum_

 _P.S. my dear Dragon, I wish to see you before Lucius returns. Tonight, I will be there.  
I have already spoken with the Headmaster."_


	5. Chapter 5

_"P.S. my dear Dragon, I wish to see you before Lucius returns. Tonight, I will be there.  
I have already spoken with the Headmaster."_

The young boy stood staring at the letter in utter shock. Slowly, he cradled the letter to his chest and then took out the sweets and gloves. The other boys watched him curiously, waiting to see what he had received. When Draco pulled out the sweets and dragon-hide gloves, Ron opened his mouth to comment, but both Harry and Neville put a hand on him to stop him. Harry could see there was a very fine line Draco was balancing on currently, and it seemed Neville had noticed this as well. So, they waited and watched Draco. The blonde boy was still cradling the letter to his chest, and now had the gloves pressed against the letter as well.

Eventually, Draco came to his senses. He ignored the tears falling from his face as he looked up. **"My mother is coming to Hogwarts today. She says my fa -Lucius has forbidden her from contacting me, but he's away on business right now. So she's coming to see me,"** he paused. _Where would she meet me? In the Astronomy Tower? Where would it be safe? My_ -Lucius _can't find out_. He had a quick panic moment, trying to figure out where he would be able to safely see his mother. They couldn't be seen by any of the Slytherin students, or rather any students, considering the gossip that could happen. He would hate to cause his mother any harm by accidentally letting something find its way back to Lucius. **"Where...?"** he asked, mostly to himself, but he ended up receiving a response. **"How about the Astronomy Tower? We can all help make sure no one finds out. Just tell Dumbledore to get your mom there. Or what about Hagrid's hut?"** Harry suggested. Draco cringed slightly at the idea. His mother wouldn't like being in the half-giant's hut. But, as he had thought of it as well, the Astronomy Tower would be a good place.

 **"I think, the Astronomy Tower should work,"** Draco said finally, looking up at his...friends. It felt good to be able to call them that. Real friends felt good. He'd never experienced this kind of thing -others trying to help him just to help him, and not wanting something in return or wanting Lucius' favor. Suddenly really unsure, he looked at all of his friends. **"What do I do? How do I do this? What if Lucius finds out? He'll hurt her. I know he will. What if -"** he was cut off by the twins, who had grabbed his arms and put their hands over his mouth and eyes. **"Hush, little Blonde one -" "-Let the experts take over,"** Fred and then George spoke, completing a sentence, as they often did.

Taking a deep breath, Draco blinked slowly a few times, then gently set the gloves, sweets, and letter down on a chair. Then, he turned and punched Fred playfully, then did the same to George. **"You idiots. Can't you come up with a better nickname?"** he whined, which caused them to laugh. **"Of course not -" "-young Blonde one -" "is more entertaining -" "-this way."** The twins spoke in turn again, this time causing the rest of the group the erupt in laughter. **"Well, looks like our job is done,"** they chorused together. They had wanted to improve the mood, and had succeeded. There wasn't a person the twins couldn't cheer up. Well, except maybe Snape.

 **"Um, so, what are we going to do?"** the question came form Neville, surprisingly. He was standing there a bit awkwardly, as if he wasn't sure he was supposed to be part of the group or not. Draco stood and thought for a moment, and was about to speak, but Harry beat him to it. **"Okay, Draco. How about, we go tell Dumbledore to get your mom to the Tower, then we can get you there, and we can all keep watch to make sure no one will see you. And since most students have gone home for the Holidays, it shouldn't be too hard,"** the raven-haired boy grinned and looked at the others to see what they thought about it. Draco thought about it and then nodded. It was a good plan. **"Okay. How do we tell the Headmaster?"** he asked. _I really get to see my mum again. I thought for sure when I got that Howler I'd never see her again._ The boy was truly overjoyed, but his previous upbringing had taught him to keep his emotions in check, which he still did out of habit sometimes. He was getting better at being more himself, but Lucius was still there in the back of his mind. He was only eleven after all, he hadn't known anything else.

\- - - - - - -

 **"Ready?"** Harry was standing next to Draco. The raven-haired boy had figured out how to use the Invisibility Cloak, so they all had decided that that was how they would get Draco into the Astronomy Tower. They would have to trust Dumbledore to get Narcissa there. An hour or so ago, Harry and Ron had gone to the Headmaster's office to talk to him about it while George and Fred had gone to stake out the Tower and make sure everything was safe. Or not, with the pranks those two liked to play, but no one really cared as long as Draco could meet with his mom without others finding out.

 **"Yeah,"** Draco lifted his chin and nodded. He would see his mother. **"We'll be with you if you need us,"** Harry reminded him. Then, Harry and Draco slipped under the Invisibility Cloak and headed out of the Common Room. Neville and Ron followed, discussing chess and plants as if nothing were going on. They all four walked down the halls and up to the Tower, spotting George and Fred on the other side of the room at the top of the Tower. Draco wasn't sure how his mother would feel about so many Weasleys, but he felt safe with them, with his friends. The young boy hadn't ever felt this content or safe when disobeying his -Lucius. Lucius Malfoy had given severe punishments for even the smallest of rule breaking. And Draco had learned to keep his emotions tucked away and to take the punishment without batting an eye. Though that was a very hard thing for an eleven year old to do, so he had not always succeeded, which had resulted in more punishment.

But now, he was free from that. _Maybe being in Gryffindor is good,_ he thought, knowing that he had at least come to enjoy it. And now, his friends were helping him see his mom. He knew the Slytherins would never do such a thing, going against the word of Lucius Malfoy. Their parents wouldn't allow it. But in Gryffindor, his father's name did not matter, did not cause anything significant.

Now the four were in the room, Ron and Neville a the window, George and Fred...somewhere, and him and Harry still under the Cloak. After a few minutes, there were footsteps on the stairs. They were all prepared for it to be some unexpected student, but suddenly, Professor McGonagall walked into the room. Ron and Neville looked at the Professor, then at each other, expecting to get in trouble or something, but then, suddenly it wasn't McGonagall.

Narcissa Malfoy stood in the room, looking around. She had been warned by the Headmaster that there may be students in the Tower, but that they would keep the secret. The woman was quite unsure of that when she saw that one of them was a Weasley, and she wasn't sure about the other. **"Where is Draco?"** Narcissa spoke clearly and properly, an easy to see Pureblood witch.

 **"Here, Mother,"** Draco lowered the Invisibility Cloak to reveal himself and Harry Potter. Narcissa stared at her son for a moment. Her baby was wearing Gryffindor robes, but he was still her baby. She was a little surprised at how he had apparently made friends with a Weasley, and Harry Potter. Potter was easily recognizable by the scar on his forehead. And his resemblance to James, whom Narcissa had gone to school with. Her cousin, Sirius, had been sorted into Gryffindor and best friends with this raven-haired boy's father. The ex-Slytherin woman recalled when Sirius was disowned by their family, and while she hadn't been close to him then, now she was questioning how her aunt had been able to do it. She guessed that it could be that Sirius hadn't been the only child, whereas Draco was. But still, it made no sense to her. Narcissa would always love her Dragon and didn't care what her husband thought. She had followed him blindly out of fear for many years now, but throwing her beloved son away was the last straw.

 **"Hello, Dragon,"** she said sweetly, smiling at her son. Draco smiled in return and stepped forward, then paused, glancing back at the others, and then Narcissa saw him look into the darkness as if searching for something. But, he must have found whatever it was, because he then moved forward and hugged her. She wrapped her arms around her son, holding him close. When she looked up again, there was no one but her and her son. But, she had seen the Invisibility Cloak Draco had appeared from, and assumed they had simply covered themselves in it. But, it was nice to have the illusion of privacy with Draco.

 **"Hello, Mother,"** Draco's voice was small and quiet. He was fighting to keep his emotions in check. It was just habit for him around his parents, and he wasn't sure if he would be allowed to show any sort of weakness, even with Lucius not around.

 **"Oh, Draco. I can't believe Lucius would do such a thing. Well, I can actually, which just proves how horrible of a man he has become. I'm so sorry, Dragon,"** She held her son close to her and kissed the top of his head. As his mother, she would always keep him safe and love him. She didn't know how someone could throw their child away. Her husbands actions angered her beyond anything, but she knew she would most likely do nothing about it out of fear. If Lucius saw fit, he would cause harm to Draco, and Narcissa couldn't let that happen. **"How have you been, Draco? I know the other students must not be very kind to you,"** she asked about her son, pulling herself back slightly so she could see his face.

 **"I'm okay, Mother. I've made friends, real friends. They've helped me. Sev's pissed I think, but he doesn't show it. You should have seen his face, Mother, when I went to him and asked to be paired with Neville Longbottom for Potions,"** Draco laughed softly. Narcissa raised an eyebrow. Longbottom? Why did she know that name? Ah, yes. Her estranged sister, Bellatrix. Narcissa recalled that her sister had tortured two by the name of Longbottom to the point of permanent comas... Narcissa was honestly not fond of Bellatrix at all. The woman was too twisted for Narcissa's taste. For a moment, Narcissa felt sorry for the boy who no longer had parents because of her sister. The Longbottoms had been Purebloods, hadn't they? She was sure they had been. And at the mention of Severus, she smiled. The man could be a right git at times, but Narcissa recalled his feelings for a certain Gryffindor girl. She surely hoped that Harry Potter would be more like his mother than his father.

 **"I can imagine he was appalled, Dragon,"** she smiled at her son. Severus had a vendetta against Gryffindors, but it seemed that with his Godson being one, he had let up on his sinister manner. Narcissa was quite close to Severus Snape, considering him like a brother. She had actually been the one to name him Godfather for Draco.

And so, she spent the next hour or so with her son, keeping him in her arms the entire time, wishing she didn't have to let go, as she wasn't sure when she would get the next chance to see him.

 **"Draco?"** Harry appeared out from under the Cloak, and revealed that they were over by the window. **"Yeah?"** Draco looked over at him. **"It's almost time for dinner..."** Harry started slowly. He didn't want to take Draco away from his mother, but they had to get back down to the Great Hall. Narcissa sighed. **"Ah, yes, I should be going as well,"** she smiled. Then, suddenly the Longbottom boy and the Weasley boy were visible too. And out of the shadows came two more red-haired boys, a little older, she was guessing Third Years. They were easily recognized as Weasleys as well. **"Hello Blondy,"** they chorused together. At first, Narcissa wanted to defend her son, but then she saw the way he rolled his eyes and laughed, blushing as well. Then they turned to Narcissa and grinned. **"Don't worry Mama Dragon, -" "-we'll keep an eye one him,"** they did the sentence thing again and Draco glared at them, probably for talking to his mother like that. Narcissa was a bit shocked by the two Weasleys, but she understood they meant well. Unable to come up with a reply to that odd little duo, she simply nodded and stepped away. And then she was Professor McGonagall again.

 **"Goodbye, Dragon,"** she said as she left. It left Draco a little shell-shocked, hearing his Mother's nickname for him come from McGonagall, but he recovered and replied. **"Goodbye, Mother,"** and it was harder than he thought it would be, as he had no idea when he would see her next.


	6. Chapter 6

**"Hermione!"** They all grinned at the bushy-haired girl as she walked over to them. She gave them all a hug, smiling. **"Hey guys. What'd I miss?"** she asked, figuring it wasn't going to be much. **"Oh not much, Hermione,"** Ron said, but they all knew they would tell her more about it when there wasn't so many people around. For now though, they just hugged each other and talked about what they got for Christmas and such. Harry and Ron were convinced that Hermione was way more excited about the books she got than she should be, but Draco shared her interests and understood the excitement.

Not that he would let it show, but with everyone talking about their Christmas presents and such, he felt a bit down. While his present had been extremely special and he was grateful for being able to see his mother, he wished he could join in the conversation more. Instead, he just nodded along and listened, making a comment or two every so often. He didn't really know what else to do. He couldn't leave, they'd ask him what was wrong. And it wasn't like he could be more in the conversation since he didn't have anything to really talk about.

 **"Hey, um, Draco, are you, okay?"** the blonde boy looked up to see Neville staring at him with a concerned expression. Apparently he hadn't been keeping up a good facade like he thought. Draco nodded. **"Yeah,"** he replied defensively. The young should-be-Slytherin would have to do better at keeping up his mask it seemed. Though, when he considered it, that didn't seem like the best thing to do. These were his friends, he shouldn't hide his emotions form them.

\- - - - - - - -

 **"So what did you guys do while I was gone?"** Hermione asked once they were alone in the Common Room. Everyone else was out doing things, but they had chosen to stay inside so they could fill in Hermione on what had happened over break. Draco was sitting with on the floor with his back against the couch, Neville was sitting on the couch above Draco, Harry and Ron were seated across from them at a little table with a chess board, and Hermione was sitting on the floor facing all of them. The twins were perched on the arms of the small couch. **"We helped sneak Draco's mom into the castle!"** Ron blurted out. Hermione's eyebrows shot up. **"What?"** she looked at Draco and the others. Draco nodded. **"Yeah. I got a letter from her for Christmas. Father is keeping her from contacting me, but he was away so she made contact and came to see me. But we had to make sure no one knew about it,"** Draco explained quietly, still unsure as to if there were any others within earshot, even though they seemed to be alone.

Hermione stared at all of them. They had met Draco's mother and had had a secret rendezvous without her? She frowned internally at what she had missed. **"So, how did it go, Draco?"** she asked, turning to the blonde boy with a look of interest on her face. Draco let his lips lift into a small smile. **"It went well. Mother says she doesn't hate me for being a Gryffindor. But, she's stuck with Father and if she tries to leave, I don't think he'll let her go. Everyone fears him,"** he commented, not even realizing he had slipped back into referring to Lucius as his father. **"I doubt everyone fears him,"** Harry commented, looking slightly doubtful. Draco nodded in argument. **"You've never met him,"** he said quietly, though his voice was strong.

\- - - - - - - - -

At breakfast, the small group of first years -and the twins- were sitting together chatting, attempting to figure out a place they could meet in private while everyone was back in class. They would have to go to Potions shortly, which meant they would have to be even more discrete in their planning because of the Slytherins. So far, they hadn't come up with anything great enough to call a plan, but they had a few small ideas. Draco however, had shot most ideas down, knowing Lucius Malfoy the best out of the group and knowing what they could get away with and what they couldn't.

When the time came, they all scurried off to Potions, except the twins, who had Muggle Studies. As the group walked, there were still whispers and taunts thrown at them by the Slytherins. Most of the taunts were thrown at Draco, but there were a few for Harry and the others as well. **"Hey Malfoy! Oh wait! What** ** _do_** **I call you? You know, since you** ** _aren't a Malfoy anymore_** **!"** that one came from another first year -Slytherin of course. **"Shut up you slimy snake!"** it was Ron who defended Malfoy this time. They usually all took turns. Except for Neville, he had trouble with the Slytherins, and most people in general -he just couldn't talk to people very well. **"Ignore them, Draco. They're just brainless idiots,"** Hermione smiled at him and put a hand on his arm. Then, together, the group of four headed down to Potions.

They entered the classroom and took their usual seats. Hermione and Ron in the middle row with Seamus Finnigan, and Harry, Draco, and Neville in the row behind them. Snape entered the room in his dark and boding way as usual. "Today, you will be reading about the Cure for Boils. Open your books to page 204," he stated, glaring at everyone. Draco rolled his eyes at his Godfather. The blonde boy wasn't sure why Sev was such a bloody git in class. He wasn't like this outside of class -well, towards Draco anyways.

They all got started on their reading, but then the boys were distracted when a small note landed in front of them. It had come from Hermione, so they opened it to see what she had said.

 _What are we going to do about your mom, Draco? We still have no plan and all I've come up with is getting a teacher involved and we know that can't happen..._

Draco was about to write down a reply when he was suddenly in a shadow. Looking up, he saw Sev standing there. **"Passing notes, are we?"** the man asked with a raised eyebrow. Before they could do anything, Severus had snatched the note and was reading it. The group shared a worried look, terrified. What scared them even more was that Severus showed no reaction to what was written.  
 **"Detention tonight, the five of you. Report here directly after dinner,"** Snape growled as he walked back to his desk. The group once again shared a round of concerned and worried looks before going back to their reading, though they couldn't keep their mind on it. They couldn't keep their focus at all.

\- - - - - - - - -

When it came time for the detention, the group hurried down to the Potions classroom. They were all extremely nervous and had no idea what to expect. The group entered the room and stood huddled together, whispering. **"What do you think he's going to do?"** Hermione asked nervously. **"I'm not sure, but Sev won't reveal this to anyone,"** Draco assured everyone. He knew Sev. **"Are, are you sure Draco?"** Neville asked nervously. Neville was very afraid of Professor Snape, though with Draco helping him, he was doing alright in Potions class and Snape wasn't being very hard on him. **"Yes I'm sure. He's my Godfather."**

 **"As unfortunate as that is,"** Snape's voice made all of them jump. Draco chuckled lightly, both out of nervousness, and humor at Sev's version of joking around. **"Hey, Sev..."** Draco started, unsure of what was going to happen. Snape cut right to the chase.

 **"What is this? And why are you five discussing Narcissa Malfoy? What can't you get a teacher involved in, Miss Granger?"** he questioned them all and stood with a raised eyebrow, awaiting an answer. Draco stepped up first. **"We have to get Mother away from F- Lucius,"** Draco was back to correcting himself, and Severus's eyebrows raised at hearing the blonde boy refer to Lucius Malfoy by name. **"And why is that, Draco?"** the man stood there, quite confused. He had not heard from Narcissa Malfoy since Draco had been sorted into Gryffindor, and after the boy had received the Howler from Lucius, he had figured that was why. Severus knew Narcissa would never abandon her son, which meant Lucius was the one forcing the decision. But how had this group of First Years figured this out. **"Mother came to see me on Christmas while, Lucius, was away. Said it was his fault she couldn't contact me. So we are planning on getting her away from him,"** Draco spoke somewhat quickly, unsure of how his Godfather would react to this news, and not wanting to take any extra time explaining. The group seemed a bit surprised at Draco sharing everything, but they simply went along with it. It was his story to tell, after all.

Severus had no idea how to react to this information. Narcissa Malfoy had been in the castle over Break? He understood why he had most likely not been informed, as it may have compromised something. But Narcissa Malfoy had been here! How could she do something so stupid! If Lucius found out, Severus knew something bad would happen. He looked at the five students who were standing in his classroom and sighed. Because Draco and Narcissa were important to him, he knew what he would end up doing. **"Come with me,"** he ordered them. Then, he led them through the back room of his classroom and into his personal quarters. _This will be quite the regrettable decision, I'm sure,_ he told himself silently.

Once they were all settled in Snape's quarters, he sighed. Showing a bunch of Gryffindors where his personal quarters was going to bite him in the ass, he was sure of it. He took a seat and glared at them all. **"Explain,"** he growled.

Draco looked at the others briefly before turning back to his Godfather. **"As you know, I stayed here over break with Ron, Harry, and Neville. Christmas morning I came down and Harry had found a present that was for me. I opened it and found a letter from Mother. She told me she would visit that day, and we,"** Draco motioned to the group, **"made a plan to meet Mother. Later that day, we met in the Astronomy Tower. Mother then explained the problem of Lucius and after she left, we decided we wanted to get her away from him. She doesn't know about it though,"** the young boy spoke swiftly and kept his voice level, though it did waiver a couple times. The should-be-Slytherin wasn't completely sure he should be sharing this information with his Godfather, but at the same time he wanted to trust Sev.

Severus was somewhat surprised at the way Draco spoke, using Lucius' first name boldly. After sifting through the information in his mind, letting his gaze wader from the group, he brought his attention back to the students in front of him. **"This is a dangerous thing, Draco,"** he said slowly. **"We know that Sev,"** Draco replied with a roll of his eyes. Severus had to bite his tongue to prevent himself from issuing a snide comment toward the boy.

 **"Professor, what are you going to do now?"** Hermione was the one who spoke, her eyes on Snape. She was being quite bold, almost glaring at the Professor, daring him to try stopping them. Severus was a bit surprised at the girl's attitude. The Potions Master looked at the group for a moment, and silently made a decision. He would go to Dumbledore. _Well_ , he corrected himself, _they_ would go. He knew that there was no way to stop the students before him.

As he looked at the group of first years, his eyes fell on Potter. A spitting image of the boy who had bullied him in his years at Hogwarts, yet the eyes remained those of the girl he had been so in love with. Severus simultaneously hated and cared for the raven-haired boy. Such an odd feeling, the conflict of the two emotions mixing and bubbling into an odd, insane feeling of grudging protectiveness. The boy may have been the offspring of his bully, but he was also Lily's child. The child Lily had died for.

 **"Sev?"** Draco's curious voice caused the Potions Professor to look toward the blonde. The rest of the group seemed to be giving him odd looks, but he ignored them and focused on his godson. **"Have you spoken to the Headmaster?"** he asked, directing the question to any who wished to answer it, though his eyes stayed focused on Draco. His godson was giving him an odd look, which he returned with a glare. Don't you dare, he thought to himself, hoping his godson wasn't stupid enough to comment on what had just happened. Draco seemed to understand and looked at the others, wondering who was going to answer Sev's question.

 **"Not yet no. But we are going to. Why?"** Hermione was the one who spoke. She gave Snape a look that made him raise an eyebrow. This little witch was going to be good, he knew. Though he had no plans to let her know that. The Potions Master sighed. **"Because, Granger, he needs to be aware of whatever you five are planning,"** Snape gave them all a hard glare, which seemed to not bother three of the five. Weasley and Longbottom seemed to shrink in their seats a bit, but Potter, Granger, and Draco just glared back at him. _Oh, this is going to be a long night,_ Severus thought grudgingly.


End file.
